Sunday, June 18, 2006

We'll probably give him a small party this year instead of the big parties he used to have. When he turns 7, he can have another big party but for now, a simple birthday party will do.

I asked him what kind of birthday cake does he like. He said he wants a Thomas cake with Annie and Claribel. So, it's final, the theme of his party this year will be Thomas and Friends.

I already inquired about a Thomas and Friends theme cake at Do Me a Favor at ATC. They have very nice cakes. I bought Yohan's 2nd Birthday Cake (Pooh) there. They also make cute character cupcakes for P40 each. I'd like to buy some cupcakes too for his birthday.

When Yohan was christened, he had a two layered Blues Clues cake for a whopping P5500. When he turned one, he had a nice 3D Winnie the Pooh cake for P2500 and a medium sized cake from Mc Donald's. When he was two, I got him a medium sized cake from Jollibee. This time, I'll settle for a resonably priced cake.

Jules and I have been talking about Yohan's 3rd Birthday. We don't know where to hold his party. Our place is under renovation and it's not a good time to invite guests. The clubhouse is a big venue. Hmmm, we're considering of holding it at a nearby Jollibee outlet. Nothing is final yet.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

We went swimming earlier at a private pool in Los Banos, courtesty of Dino's father. Yohan adamantly refused to go in the pool but he later realized what he was missing. Yohan had a wonderful time swimming. His Mama Norma bought him an inflatable turtle and Lola Dol gave him an inflatable shark.

Rain drops keep falling on my head ...

Yohan had a special treat today. It was his first time to shower in the rain. Yohan was fascinated. He usually watches the rain through the window but today he felt it on his skin for the first time. The rain felt cold in contrast to the warm pool water but Yohan didn't mind.

Jules and Yohan - swim partners.

Taking a break from swimming - time for some art. Young artists: Dee Dee, Tisha, Nico and Yohan.

Yohan was thrilled to receive another wonderful gift from Tito Keats and Tita Ves ... a rocking horse made from rattan. He was quite hesitant to try the rocking horse at first. Jules even tried to coerce him to ride his horse but Yohan resisted with a loud "No!"

When the people around him got tired of urging him to ride the horse, Yohan surprisingly sat down on the horse all by himself. I guess he wanted to do it on his own terms.

It's great to be young because you're always the recipient of great presents. Yohan is very lucky because he always receives nice gifts even though there is no special occasion.

Monday, June 12, 2006

You have low extroversion. You are quiet and reserved in most social situations.A low key, laid back lifestyle is important to you.You tend to bond slowly, over time, with one or two people.

Conscientiousness:

You have medium conscientiousness.You're generally good at balancing work and play.When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done.But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it.

Agreeableness:

You have low agreeableness.Your self interest comes first, and others come later, if at all.In general, you feel that people are not to be trusted.And you're skeptical that anyone else really feels differently.

Neuroticism:

You have medium neuroticism.You're generally cool and collected, but sometimes you do panic.Little worries or problems can consume you, draining your energy.Your life is pretty smooth, but there's a few emotional bumps you'd like to get rid of.

Openness to experience:

Your openness to new experiences is low.You're a pretty conservative person, and you favor what's socially acceptable.You think that change for novelty's sake is a very bad idea.While some may see this as boring, many see you as dependable and wise.

Friday, June 09, 2006

I had a bad case of skin allergies last Wednesday afternoon. I didn't eat anything peculiar that day so I had no idea what caused it. I initially thought I had ordinary mosquito bites although it felt really itchy. But as night came, what I thought were mosquito bites multiplied all over my body. The itchiness was almost unbearable. I had to wait the next day to find relief. I asked Jules to buy Caladryl. It helped a little but the itchiness was terrible. Two friends recommended different medicines to alleviate the itchiness. Jules was able to buy Claritin and it worked wonders. I felt better by Thursday night although the allergies were still visible. This morning, my skin is clear from allergies and I feel a whole lot better. I'm back to blogging, which really means I'm feeling back to my normal self again. :>

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

FRIDAY. Jules found out from his badminton buddy that McDonald's is featuring the characters of the Disney movie, Cars in their Happy Meal.

Good thing we still haven't bought the die cast . Everytime, we would check it out at Rustan's, we were always told that it was sold out for the day and advised to come back some other time.

That was a blessing in disguise. The small die cast was around P300 each. For that amount, we could get 3 or 4 Happy Meals already. So it turns out we're able to save money and get to collect more cars.

SATURDAY. A little rain didn't stop us from bringing Yohan to McDonald's Tanauan.

I ask, "Who among the cars are still available?" "Lahat po ma'am," replied the girl.

Music to my ears ... I wanted to go panic buying and get it all at once. ha! ha! As always, I have the penchant to buy things on impulse.

Thank goodness for Jules. He told me that it might give Yohan the wrong idea. Yohan might think that he could complete the Happy Meal toys in one visit. Instead of teaching him patience, buying all the cars at once might teach him the opposite. I thought to myself, it does makes sense and Jules is right.

Defeated, I order 3 Happy Meals. Yohan chose and .

SUNDAY. We got at McDonald's Petron SLEX drive thru on our way home from Paranaque. Kirby joined in the craze and ordered one for himself. But alas, Lightning McQueen has been sold out. Ramone was also out of stock. He got Sally instead.

Now, that was disturbing. It seems the cars are selling like hotcakes. Time to implement stronger tactics to get my pratical husband to fold and see my logic. ha! ha!

MONDAY. When his Lola Dol found out that Yohan loves Cars, she gave Yohan P200 to buy more. I just added another P100 and I was able to buy the remaining four Cars namely and .

I haven't forgotten Jules' morale of the story and vowed to keep the new cars a secret from Yohan for the mean time. We'll give it to him one at a time. We'll let him wait a little more patiently unlike his mom.

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Oh, how I miss living in Manila.Never mind the noise.Pollution ... so? It's everywhere.Never mind if houses are so close to each other that there is almost no privacy.I can even live with the fact that sometimes there is water shortage.

I miss being near my friends.I miss being independent.I miss working in Makati.I miss taking the taxi and food deliveries.I miss talking to my friends on the landline without paying for long distance charges.I miss being home...

Yohan has been attending Little Gym classes since he was a year old. He was always eager to try new things. He loved doing the forward roll. He always enjoyed being the first one to do it in his class. Often times, his teacher would ask Yohan to demonstrate the forward roll to his new classmates.

But, for uncertain reasons, he lost his passion for forward rolls when he was two years old. He did not want to go near the "cheese" where forward rolls are done and he also did not want to participate in the bar activities.

It has troubled me for quite some time. Jules even suggested that we stop enrolling Yohan for a while because he might be tired of doing the same activities. But I wanted Yohan to continue with his classes because I believe the activities help in his social development.

We and his teachers have gotten used to Yohan's refusal to do the forward roll, backward flip and the bar activities, that we agreed not to push him. Besides, he still enjoyed other actvities like the parachute, sticks, balls and bubbles.

Yesterday came as a welcome surprise and a thrill ... Yohan did a forward roll all by himself. When I asked him if he wanted to do a forward roll, he did not reply with a loud "No!" Instead, he raised his arms and made the forward roll stance and he did it! When Jules found out, he was very happy, especially when Yohan gave him an enthusiastic demonstration. I couldn't ask for more but I was thrilled when Yohan agreed to do a backward flip.

I really hope that he'll do it in class this Wednesday. I have a strong feeling that he would. :)